The Awakened
by DharmaMotorPool
Summary: "The hospital was completely abandoned; a virtual ghost town. Something smelled awful. It was far worse than the normal medicine-y smell of a hospital. It smelled like…death. Raw, decaying death." The Walking Dead, Lightman style.
1. Apocalypse Now

**A/N: Okay, so I know that technically this is a crossover, but…well frankly, posting in the crossover section would likely not merit a whole lot of viewing, and I've worked too bloody hard on this thing, lmao. **

**Sooo, for those of you who haven't seen Lost, some of the references will be…har har, **_**lost**_** on you…but I promise, you'll still be able to enjoy this fic. It has nothing to do with the actual plot of Lost, I'm just including some of its characters as if they existed only in the Lie to Me universe. **

**Anyway, on with the show. I present to you: Zombie!fic 2010!**

_x x x_

Cal Lightman awoke in his hospital bed that afternoon with a very strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. Maybe it was the fact that his scruff was three times longer than usual. Maybe it was the utter lack of noise. Maybe it was the chill in the air. Whatever the reason, Cal felt it. Something was _very_ wrong.

"Ow! Bollocks," Cal groaned as he tried to get up, searing pain in his ribs. His head ached, and he felt a bandage wrapped around it. He lay back down, vaguely remembering the incident that had landed him where he was: the brother of a man he'd helped convict of murder had found him and beaten him into a coma.

The last thing Cal remembered was thinking that he wished he'd told Gillian how he felt about her…then everything had gone black. Now, here he was, god only knew how long it had been, and he was alone. He could barely stand, but he had to try. It was too quiet out there.

"Nurse!" Cal called out several times, but there was no response. Taking a deep breath and mustering what little strength he had in him, he stood up, tore the IVs from his arm, and somehow managed to reach the door. Nothing could have prepared him for what he was about to discover.

The hospital was completely abandoned; a virtual ghost town. Something smelled awful. It was far worse than the normal medicine-y smell of a hospital. It smelled like…death. Raw, decaying _death_.

As he made his way down the hall and through a set of double doors, the smell intensified. Then he saw it. "Bloody hell!" he shouted, nearly falling over at the sight before him. It was a man…or, rather, what was _left_ of a man. His entire chest and abdomen had been ripped open. Organs appeared to be missing, intestines were strewn about, and his face was half gnawed away.

"What the _Christ_?" Cal asked, covering his mouth and nose. "Poor sod," he muttered, wondering what in the name of everything holy had happened to this man, whose janitor jumpsuit was embroidered with the name _Phil_.

Cal soldiered on, his fear building. Where was Emily? Where was Gillian? Who or _what_ had done that to poor old Philly-boy? He had to find answers, and fast. Stumbling out the hospital's double doors and into the light of day, the world did not look at all the way he'd left it. There were body bags lined up along the outside of the hospital. Everything everywhere looked dead or dying. The air was unusually cold for August, and Cal could see more rotting corpses like Phil's lying about on the grass in the distance.

He could have choked on the awful stench that filled his nostrils. Why was there so much death? Emily! Gillian! Where _were_ they? Panic surged through him; the idea of the two loves of his life ending up as a vulture's dinner made him convulse. They had to be alive somewhere, they simply _had_ to be. He looked around, searching for any sign of life, _anything_ at all, but there was nothing. Nothing but death.

He knew where he had to go first. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, Cal made use of an abandoned bicycle and pedaled his way to the Lightman Group.

_x x x_

"Gill? Gillian? Emily!" Cal called out frantically as he staggered through the hall of his deserted workplace. He burst through the door of Gillian's office. Chairs had been overturned, papers strewn about, pictures missing from her desk and her computer smashed. The place looked as though it had been ransacked. He began to panic even further. The _entire_ _building_ looked the way her office did. His office was a mess, the lab had been trashed, and…there was that smell again.

Following his nose led him to a sight he wished he hadn't come upon. "Ah!" he exclaimed, in horrified surprise. Anna, the receptionist, lay in a pool of her own blood, not looking much better than poor old Phil had. He picked up the phone at the desk, but there was no dial tone. Slamming it down in frustration, he proceeded to try every phone and television he could get his hands on. None worked. "Bollocks!" he shouted, chucking a remote control at the wall.

He slumped down into a chair, tears stinging his eyes. Where _was_ everyone? Were the people he loved safe? Why did he keep coming across half-eaten human remains? He had to get home. Maybe Emily was there. He had no idea what was going on or if he'd ever see anyone again; all he knew was he had to try.

_x x x_

Cycling home had drained him of most of his energy, but the adrenaline was thankfully enough to keep him going. He saw several more bodies along the way, though he tried not to pay attention to them. It seemed the entire city was dead. How could he be the only living being left?

"Emily?" he shouted as he burst through the door of his home, which, he noticed, had been left unlocked. "Em!" he called after a few moments' silence. Breathing heavily, he began to lose hope that he'd find her alive. Then, there was a noise from upstairs. Someone was coming down. "Emily!" he called excitedly. But it was not his daughter that appeared on the steps.

"Don't move or I'll shoot!" The voice came from a tall blonde woman pointing a rifle directly between his eyes.

"Who the bloody hell are you?" Cal asked incredulously, staring at her in confusion, "And what are you doin' in my house?"

"I said don't move!" she repeated commandingly, as Cal took a step forward.

"Whoa, Blondie, hold up," a male voice with a southern drawl said from the top of the stairs, "You know they don't talk," he said, appearing behind the woman.

"He could be infected," she said softly, turning and looking into his eyes, gun still raised.

"He just said it's his house," the man told her, "Put the gun down, sweetheart. Let's just talk to him and find out, alright?" he requested sweetly, kissing the side of her head.

She nodded once in agreement and slowly lowered her weapon, turning her attention back to Cal. "This really your house?"

"See that picture there, with _me_ in it? Yes, it's _my_ house!" he said sarcastically, "Where's my daughter, what have you done with her, and what the blazes is goin' on around here?" he demanded.

"Your daughter?" the woman asked, brow furrowed, "This place was abandoned when we found it. We've been in this neighborhood a week, no one's come. No one _living_, anyway," she explained. "Your bandages…did you get bitten?"

"Bitten?" Cal repeated in confusion.

"Yes, _bitten_. Did anything…how did you get injured?"

"Crazy bastard knocked the hell outta me, but he didn't _bite_ me. Next thing I knew, I was wakin' up in an abandoned hospital and stumblin' upon people with their guts ripped out. Why?" Cal asked, growing more impatient by the second. Emily hadn't been home in over a _week_? How long had he been out?

"When?" the man asked him, "What was the date when that happened?"

"I, uh, August. The 15th, if I recall," Cal said, "Why, what's the date now?"

The man and woman looked at one another, and he detected realization and pity in their shared glance. "It's November. The 10th," the woman told him softly.

"Three months? I've been gone nearly _three_ _months_?" Cal exclaimed in disbelief. "What happened? Why did you ask if I'd been bitten? Where's my family?"

"I don't know where your family is, but the world…it isn't the same anymore. There was a virus. We don't know how or why, but it started infecting people. They died, and then came back, and," she sighed, "Well, you saw what started happening. The Walkers…if they bite you, they infect you with the virus, and you eventually die and become one of them. Our friend Daniel can explain it better than we can, but suffice it to say…the world as we know it is over. We have people in the houses down the road. We're here getting food and supplies, and we're taking everything back to our camp outside the city tomorrow morning. The Walkers don't wander out there. You can come with us if you want to," she offered, "It's a lot safer than staying here alone."

"No, no, I have to find my daughter. If she's not here, she's out there somewhere, probably scared out of her mind, and I have to find her."

"Look, with all due respect, Tony Blair, my wife's right. Your best chance is comin' with us."

"Tony Blair? Couldn't come up with anything cleverer than that?" Cal joked, reality not quite sinking in just yet. "Lightman. Cal Lightman."

"I'm Juliet Ford," the woman introduced herself with a soft smile, stepping up to him and extending her hand, "And this is my husband, James."

"Whattaya say we take you over to Dan's? He'll probably confuse the hell outta ya, but he still knows a hell of a lot more than we do," James suggested.

"I think maybe I should get presentable first," Cal replied, looking at himself, realizing he was still wearing a hospital gown.

Juliet nodded, "Take your time. We'll wait."

Cal wandered upstairs, first going into Emily's room. She'd been here, he knew it. Pictures were missing, just like in Gillian's office, and most of her drawers were empty. His girls were still alive and out there somewhere, he had to believe that.

He went into his own room and changed clothes, grabbing a bag and tossing some more articles inside. He grabbed his toothbrush and paste from the bathroom, some soap, a hairbrush, and a picture Loker had taken last Christmas – Cal standing in front of the Lightman Group's tree, one arm around each of his favorite girls. "Don't worry, loves. I'll find you," he promised the faces smiling up at him from the picture frame. He made his way back downstairs with his bag in hand, and found James and Juliet in the living room.

"Ready?" James asked, standing up and taking his wife's hand.

Cal nodded, "As I'll ever be, I suppose," he agreed. And off they went.


	2. November, the 10th

**A/N: Welcome to chapter 2, In Which Cal Meets the Losties. Some of them, anyway. Not much action here, just some background info, laying the foundation for the excitingness ahead. Hope you enjoy! **

The trio made their way down the street, Juliet and James both with guns slung over their shoulders. Cal had grabbed his baseball bat on the way out of the house for protection.

"It's the head. Ya gotta go for the head," James explained to Cal, "Somethin' in the brain makes 'em the way they are, so if ya shut that down, the rest goes kaput."

"Ah. I'd never have guessed," Cal teased, using his bat as a walking stick. "Who are these friends of yours, anyhow?"

"Well, Miles was James' partner – they're police detectives. Or…they were," Juliet explained, sadness flashing across her features for the briefest moment, "And we met Charlotte and Daniel through Miles a few years ago. I worked with Jack, Ben, and Richard at the hospital, then there's Jack's wife Kate, Ben's wife Danielle, and their daughter Alex. Sun was a patient of mine, and Jin is her husband. Everyone else, we just met a few weeks ago, when all this..."

"When the world ended, ya mean?" Cal finished for her.

Juliet nodded, "There were a lot more of us in the beginning. Nikki and Paolo were the first to get bitten. Then, we were attacked by Walkers when we were searching a grocery store for food. They got Ana Lucia, Michael, and Alex's boyfriend, Karl," Juliet told him, sighing softly. "Poor kid. He was only 17. Then Jack's father was bitten. Jack had to put him down before he turned," she explained, shaking her head, "Sometimes it feels like it's just a matter of time before we all end up like that. But there's hope. There's always hope, as long as we're alive and not alone," she said, smiling softly and squeezing James' hand.

"Right," Cal sad, unable to keep his mind off the ones he was missing.

"Well," James said, trying to ease the tension he felt from Cal, "Here we are. I bet if there's anyone who's got an idea where your family might be, it's Danny boy in there," he assured Cal as they knocked on the front door. Cal heard several locks and bolts being turned, and a bald man in his 50s answered the door.

"James. Juliet. Who's our joiner?"

"This is Cal," Juliet introduced him, "Cal, this is John."

Cal nodded to him in greeting as they entered the house. "Well, there's only a few of us tonight. Jack took some of the others on a food run and they headed back to camp early."

"Who's still here?" James asked, setting his gun against the wall. Juliet followed suit.

"Miles, Sun and Jin, Richard, Daniel, and Charlotte," John told them, leading them into the kitchen, where the rest of the group sat, playing a quiet game of cards.

"Jimbo, Jules, glad you could join us," a small Asian man said with a smirk, "Who's he?" he inquired, nodding toward Cal.

"You'll have to excuse Miles. He left his manners in the 70s with his childhood," Juliet teased, "Everyone, this is Cal. It was his house James and I were in today. He was at the hospital in a coma through all of this, and he doesn't know where his family is, so we're taking him in. Daniel, we were hoping you might be able to explain things to Cal a little better than we could, maybe try to figure out where his family might have gone," Juliet said, turning to a fidgety-looking young fellow who was sitting next to a redhead that Cal presumed to be Charlotte. "Please, have a seat," Juliet invited Cal as she and James sat down.

Cal plopped himself in an open chair. "Any idea where I might find my daughter?" he asked Daniel, leaning back in his seat.

"Well, the last we heard was that the CDC in Atlanta was the safe zone. I'm not convinced of that, but it may be where your family headed."

"What about the White House? The president, the FBI?"

"There is no president anymore. There isn't much of _anything_, anymore," Daniel explained gloomily. The virus even infected the military bases. As far as we know, we're the only survivors in the immediate DC area."

"What's this _virus_ thing about then, eh?" Cal inquired.

"We're not sure how it started, exactly. But bodies in the morgues started waking up again. They bit doctors, patients, and it escalated from there. Spread like wildfire, and not just here. It hit New York and Los Angeles before it got here, Quebec, Montreal, Mexico…most major cities across North America. There's no telling if it spread overseas, but I'd imagine it has, through air travel or by sea."

"So that's it, then? The human race is just done for?"

"Not necessarily. But it is looking rather…grim," Daniel said with an empathetic shrug.

"Well. Isn't _that_ reassuring," Cal muttered sarcastically.

After a short silence, Juliet decided t break the ice. "So, Cal, what did you do before all this?"

"I found the truth," he replied with a shrug, leaning further back in his chair, "Doesn't seem to matter much anymore."

"Found the truth? Wait a minute, you…Cal _Lightman_, of course! You're the 'Lie Guy', right?" Daniel asked excitedly.

"Guilty as charged," Cal confessed.

"Your science is fascinating," Daniel gushed, "I kept meaning to study it more, but I never quite got around to it. I did read your book, though."

"I _was_ in the middle of a second one," Cal recalled, "Got interrupted. Bloody apocalypse," he joked.

"What exactly _is_ your science?" Juliet inquired curiously, leaning forward, elbows on the table, chin in her hands. James rubbed her back.

"He reads faces," Daniel answered for him, "You see, we make micro-expressions – quick flashes of emotion that we can't control, but that show how we really feel. Dr. Lightman here can see them, he reads faces like we read words and he uses that, along with other variables such as body language and voice pitch, to uncover the truth."

"Well, mate, I think you know more about my science than I do," Cal joked with a chuckle. "That's basically it, really. Hell of an asset in Vegas," he said, grinning, though a pang of guilt shot through him. _Gillian_, he thought to himself, recalling the last time he'd been in Vegas with her.

"So you can tell if I'm lyin', huh?" James asked, his interest piqued.

"Stake my life on it," Cal replied.

"Alright, Lie Guy, let's see what you got."

"Right, then. Two truths and a lie. Tell me three things about yourself, make one of 'em a lie," Cal suggested.

"Okay. Well, I'm 40 years old, been married 6 years now, and I'm from Alabama," he rattled off smoothly.

"Right," he said, turning to Juliet, "So how long have you _really_ been married?" Cal asked with a smirk.

James hit his palm against the table and Juliet laughed, "_Three_ years," she replied.

"Let's try this again," James insisted, "That one was just a fluke."

Cal laughed, but humored him. The game went on for nearly an hour, everyone else jumping in and trying to throw Cal off, but he caught the lie every time. Usually these types of games bored him, but Cal had to admit that, given the situation, it was a welcome distraction from the current state of things.

"So, Face Reader," Charlotte teased, "Tell us about your girl."

"Which one?" Cal asked with a soft chuckle.

"How many ya got, Casanova?" James retorted with a grin.

"Two," Cal replied quickly, "Emily, my daughter, and Gillian, my…Gillian."

"Gillian, your Gillian?" John inquired, with a slightly amused smile, "Gillian, the woman you want to be with but can't, for one reason or another?"

"Somethin' like that, yeah," Cal said in a rather gruff tone, though he was only upset with himself. If he hadn't gotten himself into that stupid fight, he'd be with Gill and Em now.

"Tell us about Emily," Juliet requested, giving Cal a reassuring smile, "If you like."

Cal took a deep breath in and exhaled sharply, worry furrowing his brow. "Well, she's…amazing, really. Couldn't ask for a better daughter. Couldn't make one if I tried. She's so clever, y'know? Such a good heart. Wonder where she gets it sometimes."

"I'm sure from you," Sun said kindly.

"What about Gillian?" John asked curiously.

A warm smile spread across Cal's face at the mention of her name. "Gillian is…" he paused, at something of a loss for words.

"That great, huh?" James asked, grinning.

"Better, mate. She's the smartest person I know. Certainly the kindest. I think Em picked up on all that from _her_, truth be told. Gill is my best friend, my partner. I'd be nowhere without her, know what I mean? Years ago, when everything came crashin' down, she made sure I stayed standin', and she has been ever since."

"Is she pretty?" Charlotte asked cheekily, half-teasing.

Cal chuckled, shaking his head, "Not just pretty, love. She's bloody _gorgeous_."

"You love her," Juliet said with a smile, turning her head slightly to look fondly at James.

"_Love_," Cal replied, shaking his head, "Doesn't even _begin_ to describe it, darling."

"And she doesn't know how you feel?" Sun asked.

"Not a clue. Not that I've any idea how she feels, either. Her and her bloody lines…" he sighed, "I wish I'd have said 'sod the line' a long time ago. If I had—"

"No use livin' in 'ifs'," James told him, interrupting his regretful speech. "It is what it is. Now ya just gotta do yer damndest to find 'em, no ifs, ands, or buts."

"Easier said than done, mate," Cal replied with a sigh, "If anything's happened to them," he paused, shaking his head, almost unable to bear the thought, "I'll never be able to forgive myself for that."

"Don't lose hope, Cal. They're out there somewhere. When the time is right, you'll find them," John told him.

"You sound so sure of yourself, mate."

"I am. You'll see them again."

"I suppose I'll take your word for it, then," Cal said with a soft, disbelieving chuckle. All he could do was hope and pray to whatever god would listen that his girls were still alive and safe.

Fortunately for Cal, his girls were very much alive. _Safe_, however, was a different matter entirely…


	3. August, the 24th

The day the world went mad.

Gillian, Emily, and Ben were at the hospital, keeping vigil over Cal. He'd been in a coma for 9 days, and according to the doctors, showed no signs of waking anytime soon.

"Doctors don't know everything," Gillian said, laying her hand atop Cal's.

"They don't know _dad_," Emily corrected with a tiny smile.

They waited and hoped, to no avail. Ben stepped out a while later to get them some cafeteria coffee. 20 minutes passed, and he still hadn't returned. "Shouldn't he have been back by now?" Gillian asked, "The lines can't be _that_ long."

"Maybe he stopped to talk to the doctor again or something," Emily suggested. This, unfortunately, was not the case.

Ben burst through the door a few minutes later, coffee-less. "We gotta go," he told them, panting. Without warning, the power shut down. Everything went dark, and Cal's machines stopped beeping.

"What?" Gillian asked in confusion and surprise, looking around the room, then back at Ben, "Did you _run_ back up here?"

"Yes. Gillian, something around here is very, _very_ wrong, and we gotta go. _Now_," he insisted, glancing down the hall. "Oh, damn it. Get down!" he closed the door and pushed them down behind the bed. Rapid gunfire could be heard down the hallway. Ben covered Cal with the blanket before hitting the floor.

"What the—"

"Shh!" Ben said as the door creaked open. A member of the National Guard stood in the doorway, gun at the ready. Seeing nothing of consequence, he closed the door and moved on. More gunfire could be heard in the distance.

"What the _hell_ is going on out there?" Gillian demanded, holding fast to a shaking and tearful Emily.

"All I know is I was waiting in line, and all of a sudden, people started screaming and running. Yellin' something about bodies in the morgue just…wakin' up again. Biting the medical examiner. Biting other doctors. Then on the TV, the news, they said it was happening in other hospitals. That we should start evacuatin'. Then I saw it," Ben paused in his explanation, a look of horror on his face, "There were these…_people_. But they weren't people, they were like," he paused to take a deep breath, "Zombies."

Gillian and Emily stared blankly at him for quite some time. Finally, Gillian blinked. "Zombies," she repeated in disbelief, not knowing how to take this news.

"Look, I don't understand it either, but it's _happening_, Gillian. Those gunshots…the National Guard is here, puttin' people down to stop it spreading 'cause they think everyone's infected. People are panicking, sayin' the world's comin' to an end. So what we have to do right now is find Loker and Torres, find Emily's mother, and get us all the hell outta here."

"Where are we supposed to go, Ben? We can't leave Cal like this. What if he wakes up? We have to _be_ here, we can't just—"

"Gillian," Ben said, looking into her eyes somberly, "We have to go. _Now_."

"No, Ben. I'm not leaving Cal," Gillian insisted sternly, her eyes focused on his, arms tight around Emily.

"We don't have a _choice_."

"Yes, we do, and I am not leaving him. I won't, because he—he wouldn't leave me. If this were reversed, he," her voice broke, tears filling her eyes, "He _wouldn't_ _leave_ _me_."

"Gillian," Ben said softly. She detected something she'd never seen before in Ben's eyes…tears. He stood her up, walking her out of Emily's earshot, and whispered to her, "Those machines were helping keep him alive. Power's gone, and without them…he's not gonna survive. We can't take care of him, and he's not gonna wake up, Gillian. I know he wouldn't leave you, but I also know that he'd want you and Emily to be safe. You can't stay safe here. We have to go."

"Gill," Emily's small, terrified voice whispered. She stood and walked over to them, clutching Gillian's arm, "He's right, we have to leave him," she said softly, her voice breaking, "Dad would tell us to go."

Gillian felt tears slip from her eyes and slide down her cheeks. She pulled Emily into a hug, and they sobbed quietly in each other's arms while Ben rubbed Emily's back, his other hand on Gillian's shoulder. Things had gotten quiet outside the room, but Ben let them process their grief, figuring they were safe – for now – and he had a gun in case they weren't.

A few minutes passed. The girls slowly pulled apart and moved back toward Cal, one standing on either side of the bed, holding his hand. "Dad," Emily began, "We have to go now. We're going to find mom, and…Gill's gonna take care of me, and so is Ben, so you don't have to worry, okay? I love you…so much," she said with a gentle sob, leaning over and kissing his forehead before walking around to Gillian's side.

Gillian swallowed, "Cal," she whispered, "Now would be a _really_ good time to wake up," she half-joked, a soft, morose chuckle escaping her. She took a deep breath before speaking again, "I promise you, I'm not gonna let anything happen to Emily. And I'm sorry," she paused, unable to keep a sob from escaping her throat, "I'm sorry that I failed you. But I won't fail again. I'll keep Emily safe for you. I promise," she said, bending down and pressing a soft kiss to his lips. "I love you," she whispered, resting her forehead against his and closing her eyes, "Always have. Always will." She wished she'd had the courage to say those words to him _before_ all this had happened. Her tears fell onto his skin. "Goodbye, Cal," she managed to choke out, despite the lump in her throat. She kissed him one last time, then stood up and took Emily's hand. "Okay," she said, collecting herself, "Let's go."

"Just a second," Ben said, resting a hand on Cal's shoulder, "I'll protect them for you, Lightman. I swear on my life. I'll keep them safe." He took in a lungful of air and slowly exhaled, then nodded once, signaling that he was ready to go.

"Goodbye, dad," Emily whispered. Gillian brushed the tears from the young woman's face with her free hand, and they followed Ben to the door. He opened it slowly, poking his head out, gun in hand. There were no signs of life anywhere on the floor.

"Alright, c'mon," he said, "Go in front of me. Head for the stairs and just keep moving. You got your car keys?" he asked Gillian, who nodded. "Okay, let's move." He pressed the lock button on the inside of the door and pulled it shut.

The trio moved stealthily through the hospital, trying hard to ignore the corpses scattered along the floor. The smell of death hung in the air, so thick that Emily had to cover her nose to keep herself from vomiting. Gillian held onto her and whispered words of encouragement, trying to stay strong for Emily's sake. "It's gonna be okay, sweetheart," she told her, "Just keep moving, we're gonna be okay."

They made it to the parking garage, where they spied the first living beings they'd seen since leaving Cal's room…or, what they _thought_ were living beings. "Hold on, hold on!" Ben said, holding Emily and Gillian back, "They're not alive."

"What? How can you—"

"Look at how they're walkin'," he pointed out, "They're dead. Or _un_dead. Keep movin', your car's over that way," he said, spotting her vehicle in the distance. "Just keep goin', I've got your backs, alright?" Ben nudged them forward, and they made a dash for the car. Gillian pressed the button on her keys to unlock it before they reached it. "You want me to drive?" Ben asked.

Gillian nodded, getting into the backseat with Emily. Ben drove them to the Lightman Group, and Gillian held Emily the whole way, making sure she kept her head down and her eyes away from the devastation that surrounded them. There were bodies everywhere, the undead lumbering around at every turn, gnawing at and fighting over the remains of the dead. There was no one _alive_ in sight. They presumed that anyone who was still among the living had either already evacuated or was in hiding.

Ben parked the car outside the Lightman Group, making sure to stop in a spot that the undead _weren't_. He ushered the girls from the car, locked it, and ran them inside, keeping his eyes peeled for any signs of the walking dead. "Ria? Eli?" Gillian called out, "Ria! Are you here? Eli?"

They approached the lab, and the door swung open, all three jumping back in surprise. Ben raised his gun, but lowered it immediately when he saw who had opened the door. "Eli!" Gillian exclaimed, throwing her arms around him in relief, grateful to see a familiar, _living_ face, "Oh, thank god," she said, tears welling in her eyes once again.

"Gillian," Eli said, returning her embrace, equally surprised to see the three of them. "God, we thought you were…" he sighed, not knowing how to finish the thought.

"We thought _you_ were…wait, we? Who else is here?" Ben asked.

"Ria, she's checking the offices one more time," Loker told them.

"Thank god you're both alright," Gillian said, sighing in both sadness and relief.

"Where…Lightman…?" Eli trailed off, looking to Ben for an answer, seeing the devastation on their faces.

Ben shook his head, "We had to leave him behind," he said quietly. There was a moment of silence, which would have lasted longer had Ria not returned.

"Oh my god, you're here!" she said, bounding over to them and hugging all three in turn.

"Is it clear?" Eli asked her.

Ria nodded, "No more Walkers. The only question is...what do we do now?"

"We have to find my mom," Emily said, still holding onto Ria, who looked grim.

"Em, I…we—" Ria stammered. Eli shook his head, but she continued, "Your mom, she…she's here," she said, holding both of Emily's hands in her own, "She came here looking for you. Emily, she…she got bitten. We…did everything we—I'm _so_ sorry, Em."

Emily felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. "What? No! No, my mom, she—she can't be! Where is she?" Tears slid down Emily's cheeks, and Gillian pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head, holding her while she sobbed. "First dad, now this? I'm an orphan! I'm all alone, what am I supposed to do, I can't—"

"You're not alone, Em," Gillian whispered to her, "I am not leaving you, I promise. You're not alone," she told her, holding her tight. "Give us a few minutes?" Gillian requested softly to the others, who stepped outside the lab, leaving Gillian to comfort a seemingly inconsolable Emily.

"Poor girl. Her whole world's been ripped out from under her all at once," Ben said with a sigh.

"What happened with Lightman?" Ria asked. Ben explained what they'd just gone through, and Eli and Ria filled him in on their side of things. Walkers, as they called them, had wandered from one of the nearby hospitals and invaded the building. Before anyone knew what was going on, Anna, Zoe, and a few others had been bitten. Zoe had apparently died, only to revive about ten minutes later. Realizing what had happened to her, Eli had put a bullet through her brain to stop the virus. They'd laid her on the couch in Cal's office and covered her with a blanket.

"Damn," Ben said softly, shaking his head, "We gotta figure out what to do, where to go from here."

"I don't think we should go too far just yet. We can't be the only people left in the world. Somebody somewhere must know _some_thing. I'm thinking we should stick around town until we find someone who can help," Loker suggested.

"You're probably right," Ben agreed, "Unfortunately, things are gonna be a little more difficult without technology. We should stock up on supplies and find somewhere safe to hold up for a few days. Anything here we can use for weapons? My gun's only got a few rounds left, but if we stop by my place, I can pick up the rest of my gear. You know how to use a semi-automatic?" he asked. They both nodded.

"Do you think Emily's gonna be alright?" Ria asked in concern, peeking into the lab at Emily and Gillian, who were in the middle of what looked to be a very emotional conversation.

"She'll make it. Gillian's like a mother to her," Ben replied, "They're both going through a lot right now, losing people they loved…you didn't see Foster's face when she was saying goodbye to Lightman. I've never seen her make that face before, and I hope I never have to again."

Realization flooded over Ria, "You really care about her, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Ben replied, embarrassment flashing across his face.

"No, you _really_ care about her," Ria continued, "You…you have feelings for her, don't you?"

"Now is not the time or the place to be talkin' about stuff like this, alright? I care for her and keep my mouth shut about it, she's in love with Lightman, and that's how it's gonna stay, end of story."

"Alright, alright," Ria said with a small smile. "So, once Gillian and Emily are ready, we'll go over to your place until we figure out what to do, we're agreed?" Eli and Ben nodded.

"And please, don't say anything to Foster, alright? We need to focus on what's important: staying together and staying _alive_. We've gotta look out and be strong for both of them," Ben said.

"Agreed," Eli said with a nod, "How much food is at your house?"

"Not a whole lot. We should try to find some more before we get there. Anything that doesn't need to be cooked or refrigerated," Ben told them, "I suppose we should try to get to everyone's place so you all can pick up some of your things. We'll see what we come up with for food, and we'll make my house the last stop. Sound good?"

"I think it's the best option we have right now," Ria agreed.

The door to the lab opened a few minutes later, and a very puffy-eyed Emily and Gillian stepped out. "What's the plan?" Gillian asked softly, looking to Ben, knowing they'd likely come up with something while she'd been talking with Emily.

"We're gonna head to each of your houses so you can pack a bag, then we're goin' to my place until we figure out what to do next," Ben told her.

Gillian nodded, "We should get going, then, before it gets dark."

"Follow me," Ben instructed, drawing his weapon, "Emily, stay right behind me. Loker, you bring up the rear." They followed him out, staying as close as possible, Emily clinging to Gillian, eyes alert. Ben made certain to check around every corner, but the area seemed to be completely deserted.

"Wait," Gillian said as they passed her office, which had obviously been raided by Walkers. She slipped inside, just long enough to grab a few pictures from her desk and wall before rejoining the others.

They reached the car and clambered inside, Emily sandwiched in the backseat between Eli and Gillian, Ben at the wheel, and Ria next to him in the passenger seat. Their first stop was Gillian's. They all went in together, and while Gillian packed a bag of essentials (including the mace Cal had given her – she didn't know how effective it would be against the undead, but she figured it couldn't hurt to have it handy), the others gathered food. They repeated this process at Eli's and again at Ria's before reaching the Lightman house.

"I…I can't go in," Emily said, shaking her head.

"Yes you can, Emily," Gillian said reassuringly, "Just stay with me, okay?"

Emily took a deep breath and paused in thought before nodding her consent. They made their way carefully into the house, and Gillian walked Emily upstairs. "Sweetheart, why don't you go and get a bag together. There's something I need from your dad's room," Gillian said softly.

She pushed open the door to Cal's bedroom and stepped inside carefully, as though she were setting foot on hallowed ground. She went to his closet, gingerly touching each article of clothing that hung there as tears stung her eyes. When the tears finally overtook her, she buried her face in one of his favorite shirts, not wanting Emily to hear her sobs.

She collected herself a few minutes later, and wiped her eyes on the shirt that still retained his unique scent. Taking the shirt from its hanger, she neatly folded it, deciding to take it with her. Standing on her tip-toes, she reached up for the box she'd come for – the box containing Cal's Smith & Wesson, along with some extra ammo.

Once she was sure her eyes bore no signs of her tears, she rapped on Emily's door and entered her room, finding her sitting on her bed and looking at a photo of herself with her parents. Wordlessly, Gillian sat beside her, setting the shirt and the box down and rubbing her back. "What can I do for you?" she asked softly.

"Stay alive," Emily pleaded in a broken whisper, staring at Gillian with watery eyes.

Gillian didn't respond with words right away and, instead wrapped her arms around Emily, kissing the top of her head. "I'm not going anywhere."

_x x x_

They padded back downstairs after a while, and Gillian handed the box to Ben. He peered inside, nodded, and handed its contents to Eli. "We ready?" he asked everyone, though he was looking at Gillian.

"Yes," she responded, Cal's shirt tucked beneath her arm.

"Alright, let's move out," Ben said, leading them outside. Unfortunately, night had fallen, and Walkers were most active at night. The undead beings wandered the street and surrounded their car.

"Ben," Emily whimpered, squeezing Gillian.

"Stay close," he replied, aiming his gun at the three Walkers near the car. One by one, he picked them off, but the noise seemed to draw the other zombies in. Five more Walkers turned and began staggering towards them at the noise. "Run!" he exclaimed, firing two more shots at the approaching undead. They scrambled into the car and Ben put it in motion, speeding them away from the scene and towards his home. Thankfully, the drive was relatively peaceful, if you didn't pay attention to all the Walkers that were lurking around (Emily tried extra hard not to).

Once they arrived, Ben parked in the garage and quickly ushered them inside with all their supplies and belongings. Exhausted both physically and emotionally, the five-some flopped down on the couches and chairs in Ben's living room. "Well, now we know they're attracted to the sound of gun-fire," Ben said with a sigh.

"Meaning we need to find ourselves some quieter weapons," Eli continued, "Got any frying pans?" he asked, only half joking.

"I've got a couple baseball bats, golf clubs, and there should be some shovels and an ax in the garage," Ben told them, "Guns'll have to be a last resort kinda thing."

"I think we should board up the windows," Gillian suggested softly, "Block the windows and doors, and stay quiet. Anything we can do to keep from drawing them to the house."

The others agreed. Gillian told Emily to relax on the couch, and so she pulled out a book she'd brought with her (Wuthering Heights), Gillian gave her a blanket, and the adults went to work.

When every window had been boarded and every door secured, Gillian suggested they all get some sleep. Ben showed the girls to his guest bedroom upstairs, and told them he and Eli would sleep in the living room. Gillian, Emily, and Ria huddled in bed together that night, but no one got much sleep. Ben and Eli were convinced that every little noise was a Walker trying to get in the house, and sleep didn't come for them, either.

_x x x_

Everyone was groggy in the morning; Gillian was the first to rise. She trudged into the kitchen. Thankfully, Ben had a gas stove, and a match did the trick. She put on a pot of hot water for coffee, figuring they could all use a little caffeine. Ben found her 15 minutes later, sitting at the table, slowly sipping the strong, black liquid, sweetened with only a teaspoon of sugar. "Morning," he said, mustering a smile and walking over to the pot, "Thanks for startin' this up," he said as he made himself a steaming mug-full.

"No problem," she replied, smiling back.

Ben moved to the table and sat beside her, "Why does it feel like the last 24 hours have been more like 24 days?" he asked with a sardonic chuckle.

Gillian sighed in response and took another long sip of coffee.

"Hey," Ben said gently, "Are you gonna be alright?"

Gillian let out a soft laugh, "I don't even know what 'alright' means anymore, Ben."

He nodded, sipping his own drink. "Well…if you want help figuring it out, I'm not goin' anywhere," he told her, placing a hand on her forearm to reassure her. He wasn't a face-reader, but he could see the pain in her eyes, and he wished like hell that he could make it all go away. He'd have taken it all upon himself if he could have. Anything to make that look disappear and see her smile – _really_ smile – again.

"Thanks," she said, mustering a half-smile.

"Morning," Eli's groggy voice greeted them as he trudged into the room, rubbing his eyes.

"Morning," they responded simultaneously. Gillian lifted her mug to her lips again, and Ben's hand fell from her arm.

"So…no TV, no phones, no internet, really no technology to speak of at all…basically, we're back in the 1800s, except that we've still got cars. This should be fun."

"So what do we do now, are we supposed to just find whoever's left on this earth and start from scratch?" Gillian asked, half sarcastic, half actually wondering what the hell they were gonna do. They couldn't live the rest of their lives like this, just waiting around to be bitten by some undead freak.

"I guess," Eli answered with a shrug, making himself some coffee, as well.

"Hey," Emily's soft voice was heard next.

"Morning, sweetheart," Gillian said, patting the chair next to hers. Emily sat down beside her and rested her head on Gillian's shoulder, one arm around her pseudo-mother's back. "Did you get any sleep?"

Emily shook her head, "Not really," she replied, almost inaudibly.

Gillian stroked Emily's hair, hoping to sooth her, "Are you hungry or thirsty?"

Emily's head shook again, "No, not yet."

"Morning." Ria entered next and walked over to Eli at the stove, using up the last of the hot water for her coffee.

"Well, it's our first post-apocalypse morning. That might call for a drink later. I hope you've got alcohol, Ben," Eli said, only half-joking.

"Brother, I was an FBI agent. Of course I've got alcohol," he said with a chuckle.

"So…what now?" Ria asked, looking from Ben to Gillian to Eli.

"Well…I couldn't get to sleep last night, so I started – for lack of a better word – _studying_," Eli told them, "Hold on." He stood up and left the room, re-entering a minute later with a book in his hand.

"What's that?" Ria inquired.

"I bought this book a while ago, I thought it was funny. I never thought—" he cut himself off, sighing softly and tossing the book onto the table as he sat back down.

"The Zombie Survival Guide?" Gillian asked, almost in disbelief, arching an eyebrow as she picked the book up.

Ria snorted, "Are you serious?"

"Okay, yeah, laugh it up, Eli the geek strikes again, but I'm serious. A lot of this stuff, it makes sense. And it seems consistent with what we've encountered so far. Like," he grabbed the book from Gillian, flipping to one of the dog-eared pages, "Look, right here. They call the virus 'solanum', and it says that once someone contracts the virus, it stops all their bodily functions, kills them, and then mutates the brain and they reanimate. Here, 'solanum does not create life, it alters it'…those people in the morgue, they must have contracted the virus. They were presumed dead, but their brains were just lying dormant until the virus took full effect."

"Eli, this book is _fiction_," Ria objected.

"Is it? Because a lot of this seems a little _too_ coincidental. Look here, page 14, 'There is no question that zombies have excellent hearing. Not only can they detect sound—they can determine its direction'. Page 78 – 'Firing a shot is no different than sending up a flare', we've _experienced_ this stuff," he said, reading from the book, "Obviously, it's not entirely fictitious. It says 'unless you have a speedy means of escape, or unless your firearm is silenced, use a secondary hand weapon. If not, have an escape route planned and ready to use once your shots are fired.' I bet we attracted more of them when we left Lightman's."

"Well, I've _got_ silencers," Ben said, "I dunno why it didn't occur to me before."

"We were a little bit preoccupied dealing with the end of the world," Emily interjected.

"Okay, so this book…does it tell us what in the hell to do next?" Ben asked.

"Glad you asked. It says that urban areas can be the most dangerous, and it's safer to be out in the countryside where they're not likely to wander. I'm thinking what we need to do is gather all the supplies we can, find an abandoned RV somewhere, and set up camp outside the city. Maybe somewhere along the Potomac, so we have a source of fresh water. We'll be safe there until we find other survivors or figure out where to go next."

"Are you sure that's the best way?" Gillian asked uncertainly.

"I don't know how sure we can be sure of _anything_ anymore, but…yes, I think it's the best way." Eli replied. The book has a list of supplies. I've taken note of what we already have, and what we need to get. Let's see, um," he flipped through the book's pages, "Wind and waterproof matches, flashlights, ponchos, sleeping bags, first aid kits, two-way radios…"

"I've got walkies. Top of the line, military grade. Range up to 30 miles," Ben told them.

"That'll do," Eli said, with the grin of a delighted tech junkie who'd discovered a new toy.

"And a trench knife," Ben said, glancing at some of the pages in the book, "Says here that's the best compact weapon to fight 'em off with."

Eli's eyes glazed over in wonder. "You _own_ one of those?"

Ben shrugged, "Thought it was cool."

"One zombie outbreak and suddenly he's Rambo," Ria joked.

"Well," Gillian said with a gentle smile, "I guess we'd better get moving."

_x x x_

With the help of the Zombie Survival Guide and Ben's walkies, their plan was put to action. Over the next few days, they began gathering and packing up their supplies. Eli and Ria ventured out in the afternoon to get the remaining items they needed, and to find an RV, which turned out to be a surprisingly easy task. They loaded it up with their belongings, and went off in search of greener pastures…literally.

**A/N: Sooo, I dedicate this entire work to my wifey, without whom I'd be lost and this fic would be…nonexistent. Anyhoo, I hope you liked it. Coming up in chapter 4: Gill and the gang run into some surprising characters, Cal's injuries begin to get the best of him, and Eli cracks some zombie skulls. Stay tuned!**


	4. Days 23 through 43

**Day 23**

Their camp had turned out not to be so bad, after all. Sure, they missed sleeping on regular beds rather than air mattresses, but all in all, for life after a zombie apocalypse, it wasn't terrible. Walkers really _didn't_ wander far from the urban areas, as the book had told them. They were right by the river, so fresh water wasn't lacking, and they'd stocked up pretty well, but knew they could make trips into the city for food and supplies if needed. Some nights, the girls slept in the RV and the men in the tent, some nights, it was the other way around. The biggest problem they faced now was what to do if winter hit and they hadn't found any help.

"We'll have to either head back and take our chances with living in the city, or we'll have to get ourselves to a warmer climate," Eli mused.

"I think we're just going to have to take things as they come," Gillian always replied. The fate of the world was far beyond their control now. All they could do was hope that someone drove past them on the nearby road, or that they'd come across some other living being during a supply run.

With Cal gone, Gillian made it her sole mission to keep Emily safe and help her through her grief. This made it difficult for Gillian to deal with her _own_ grief, but she didn't have any desire to, anyway. She felt as dead inside as those zombies were.

"You know it's not healthy for you to go on like this," Ben said that evening, sitting down beside Gillian in front of the fire Eli had started earlier that day. She was wrapped in a blanket and stared into the flames, lost in thought. Ria, Emily, and Eli were in the RV, already asleep. Ben knew Gillian probably wanted a bit of alone time, but he also knew she needed to get a lot of feelings out. She'd never let herself do that if she didn't have a little help.

"I know," came her soft reply after a few moments of pause, "But I don't really know how else to be right now."

Ben carefully rested his arm over her shoulders. He wanted so badly to take her pain away. Her pain hurt him, and knowing he couldn't help her pained him all the more. "We're gonna get through this. I know right now it all seems impossible, but…we're gonna make it, somehow. We can't stop believin' that," he told her, squeezing her gently.

"That's what I keep telling Emily. I just wish it were so easy for me to believe that myself. I think she knows I'm an unreliable source. She's gotten good at reading us," she said with a sigh, "It's not fair of me to feel this way. She lost both of her parents in one day, I only lost-" she paused, not sure how to finish, "I didn't lose as much as she did," she decided to say.

"You lost a lot, too," Ben told her, "Just because it was a different kind of loss doesn't make it any less painful."

"Thank you," Gillian said softly, tears welling in her eyes. Ben knew she silently cried herself to sleep most nights. He reached out to wipe her tears away, but she buried her face in his shoulder and finally let herself cry out loud. He held her for what seemed like hours, letting her spill salty tears onto his shoulder until she had none left.

"For you," he murmured, stroking her hair, "Anytime."

She sniffled and lifted her head to look into his eyes, "I'd never have made it through all this if you weren't there," she told him, her voice shaky but grateful.

"You would have," he assured her with a gentle smile, "You're a pretty kick-ass lady, Gillian Foster, in case you hadn't noticed."

She let out a short chuckle and shook her head, "I'm not as tough as I seem."

"I know," he said, pushing a lock of hair from her face, "It's a good thing you're not in this alone, then, huh?"

"Yeah," she whispered, closing her eyes and resting her forehead against his.

"Gillian," Ben murmured. He knew he shouldn't do what he was about to do. He knew he needed to leave her be, let her heal, but damn if he didn't want to be the one to help her put the pieces back together. Gently, cautiously, he caught her lips with his own. She responded slowly, and as the kiss became more urgent, more intense, Ben could feel more of her tears, hot against his skin. He broke from her, an apologetic look on his face, which she quickly disregarded.

"No, Ben, please," she implored him, "I need this. I need you." Her lips were against his again before he could bring himself to object, and by then, he was a goner. He broke the kiss again, but only long enough to lift her into his arms, carry her into the tent, and lay her down on the air mattress.

"Are you sure?" he whispered to her. She signaled her consent with a nod.

Neither one of them slept that night.

**Day 24**

Gillian was the first to rise that morning. Ben had finally fallen asleep around 4 a.m., but Gillian laid awake for another hour or so before deciding sleep was a lost cause. She slipped her undergarments back on, grabbed the rest of her clothes, and went to submerge herself in the fresh water of the river.

Her head was spinning, and she felt as though a large rock had been dropped into her stomach. Her body was sore and her skin sticky. All she wanted to do was wash everything away. Being with Ben was supposed to make everything _better_; it wasn't supposed to feel like this. She wasn't supposed to be in this much pain or experiencing this much regret. No, perhaps not so much regret as it was…guilt. She'd betrayed Cal, the man she loved.

It was an irrational feeling, and she knew it, but she just couldn't seem to push it away. Cal hadn't even been gone a month and there she was, hopping into bed with someone else. _You're_ _being_ _ridiculous_, she told herself. _You and Cal weren't even a couple, he never even knew how you felt about him,_ she tried to rationalize. It didn't help.

She emerged from the water, still feeling unclean, and quietly crept into the RV for a towel and a change of clothes. By the time she exited the bathroom, the others were waking up.

"Morning," Emily said groggily, rubbing her eyes.

"Morning, sweetie," Gillian greeted her, walking over and kissing the top of her head.

"Did you sleep in the tent?" Emily asked.

"Yeah, I did. Ben and I were up late talking and we didn't wanna wake you all up," Gillian lied convincingly, a pang of sorrow shooting through her at the same time as she recalled something Cal had once told her. "_You know, you scare me sometimes, you do, how good a liar you can be."_ She knew she was going to have to implement that skill now.

Ria's eyebrow lifted; Gillian may have been able to deceive Emily, but the young protégé detected facial tics the youngest Lightman missed. She kept quiet, though, knowing better than to reveal anything Foster so obviously didn't want Emily to know.

"Alright, well, I'm gonna go for a bath," Emily said, kissing Gillian's cheek and grabbing her things before heading out to the water's edge.

Ria took the opportunity to satisfy her curiosity. "What was _that_ all about?" she asked.

Eli paused his raid of the cupboard to look at the pair of them. "What was what all about?"

"She had a look," Ria explained, "Guilt. It's still there, and it was even stronger when Emily asked if you slept in the tent. What's going on, Gillian?"

"Nothing's '_going_ _on'_, Ria, just stop with the interrogation, alright?"

Torres' eyes widened, "Defensive much?"

"Drop it, Torres," Gillian deadpanned, and Ria backed off immediately. Curious as she was about her suspicions, she knew it was in her best interest not to piss off her (former?) boss. Gillian took a granola bar, though she really wasn't in the mood to eat anything, grabbed a book, though she knew she'd be too distracted to read it, and left the RV. Thankfully, Ben was still in the tent. Gillian wasn't quite ready to face him yet.

"Something's going on," Ria told Eli once Gillian was gone.

"Oh my gosh, really?" he asked sarcastically, "Leave it alone, Ria, she doesn't want to talk about it. It doesn't take an expert to see the pain in her eyes. Let her deal with it her own way."

Ria sighed, "If she loses hope—"

"We won't let her. But we still need to let her grieve. Best thing we can do is help Emily so Gillian can help herself."

Ria nodded, and the duo went on with their breakfast.

Meanwhile, Emily had finished washing up and changing, and Ben's figure finally materialized from inside the tent. "Morning," he greeted the girls.

"Morning," Gillian and Emily responded in unison, Gillian avoiding his gaze.

This reaction didn't go unnoticed by Ben. "Em, would you mind giving us a minute?" he asked her kindly. A look of worry crossed the young girl's face, but a nod from Gillian reassured her, and she went back to the RV to join Ria and Eli for breakfast.

"We gonna talk about last night?" he asked softly, once Emily was out of sight.

Gillian sighed, "Ben, I…I'm sorry. I thought I was ready, but I'm not. I can't…" she paused, shaking her head and looking in his eyes, at a loss for words. "I'm sorry," she repeated quietly.

They sat in silence for a minute or two, until Ben spoke up. "I'm not."

"What?"

"I'm not sorry," he clarified, "Last night wasn't just an impulse, Gillian, it's somethin' I've been wanting for a long time, and even if you regret it, I'm not sorry it happened. I love you. I've always…" he trailed off with a sigh, seeing her wide-eyed, shocked expression. "Look, I know this is about him," he said, referring to Cal, "And I understand. Hell, I can't blame you for it. You feel for him what I'm feelin' for you. I'm not delusional, I never expected you to return my feelings, but…maybe someday you will. So if you need us to just be friends right now, I can deal with that, but if you ever change your mind…I'm not goin' anywhere," he told her, kissing her cheek before standing up. He left her alone to think on his words, and went to the RV for some food.

Gillian cried herself to sleep again that night.

**Day 42**

Things had been rather uneventful. They kept themselves occupied with games and books, and Eli wrote them several amusing songs. Emily kept a journal. Gillian had begun to perk up slightly, but it still seemed to take a lot to make her laugh. Ben implored Eli to try and provoke one from her every chance he could with his music. She smiled more often, but they weren't always completely sincere, and true laughs were a rarity.

Gillian approached Ben again that night, while the others were fast asleep in the RV. "Hey," she said softly, stepping into the tent.

"Hey," he replied, looking up from his book of crossword puzzles.

"Mind if I join you?"

He shook his head and smiled, "Course not," he answered, nodding towards the open space beside him on the air mattress.

"Need any help?" she asked, looking over his shoulder at the puzzle.

"Sure. What's the French word for 'twenty-one'?"

"Vingt et un," she spouted, with a flawless French accent.

"What?" he asked with a laugh, "You're gonna have to spell that one for me."

She laughed in earnest, a sound he cherished, and took the pen to scribble it in the 21-across space. With Gillian's help, the puzzle came together quickly.

"How 'bout a 4-letter word for 'adoration'?" he asked, a more serious look on his face.

"Where does it ask for that?" she asked, searching the clues.

"_I'm_ asking that," he told her, leaning in closer.

She took a breath, finally catching on. "Oh," she said, exhaling softly, her eyelids fluttering shut as she closed the distance between them. She let the kiss deepen and continue, barely coming up for air. This time, he didn't question her readiness. He knew he should have, but they both knew she wouldn't have refused him. She didn't want to stop him. She wanted the _pain_ to stop, and she wanted someone who loved her to try and take it away. She wanted to get lost in him and forget about everything else in the world; forget about the past, forget about Cal, forget her worries for the future, and just feel _better_.

Sadly, this was not the case.

**Day 43**

She woke up the next morning feeling empty inside, except for the guilt, which had once again settled itself in the pit of her stomach. She dressed herself and stumbled groggily from the tent, but this morning, Ria had woken up before her, and was sitting by the fire with a book.

"Morning," she said, looking up from the page.

Gillian couldn't look her in the eyes, knowing Ria would read everything on her face if she did. She also knew that her avoidance would be read just as easily, but she didn't know what else to do. "Morning," she said quietly, taking a seat next to her.

"You wanna talk yet?"

"What?" Gillian asked, though she understood the question perfectly.

"This is the second time you've slept in that tent with Ben, and both times, you've woken up looking like you just murdered a puppy. You're in pain, you're grieving, and you're not dealing with it. You slept with him," Ria said, not accusingly, not unkindly, but almost with an air of sadness, "And it hasn't made you feel better. It hasn't helped. The guilt on your face…it's because of Lightman, right?"

"You don't know anything about it," Gillian said with an icy expression, "Do not talk to me about this." She stood, marching to the RV for a change of clothes. Hot tears stung her eyes as she rifled through her bag and pulled out a shirt and a pair of jeans.

"Hi, Gill," Emily's sleepy voice startled Gillian.

"Morning," she said, wiping her eyes.

Emily didn't miss this action, and she sat up, brow furrowed. "What's wrong?" she asked in heavy concern.

"Nothing, sweetheart, I'm alright," Gillian told her, putting on a smile that the youngest Lightman noticed did _not_ reach her eyes.

"Are you sure?" she asked skeptically.

Gillian nodded, "I'm fine," she insisted.

Ria chose that moment to enter the RV. "You _aren't_ fine, Gillian," she objected, "And you can't keep using sex as a weapon to deflect your grief."

"Wait, what?" Emily broke in, suddenly more awake. "What's she talking about, Gill?" Gillian shot Ria a look that sent shivers up the protégé's spine. "Gillian, what…oh, my god," Emily continued, the truth finally dawning on her, "You slept with Ben, didn't you," she accused, her voice breaking. Gillian's eyes told Emily all she needed to know.

"How could you do that?" she shouted, springing out of bed, "Dad…he _loved_ you, and you loved him, and he hasn't even been gone two months! All that talk about how much you miss him, how much he meant to you, how you'd sacrifice yourself for him if you could, while all along you've been sleeping with Ben? Everything you said was just a bunch of lies, and you're nothing but a whore!" Emily seethed, actually more sad than she was angry.

Her dad and Gillian were supposed to be together, and then he was just gone. Emily had always wondered when the two of them were going to admit how they felt about one another; she just never imagined it would be too late when that happened. She'd imagined Gillian being her stepmom. She'd imagined a lot of things, including a stable future, and college, and maybe marriage and kids, and having her parents and Gillian help her raise those kids. None of that seemed even remotely possible now, and her world seemed to be unraveling even faster with the idea that Gillian didn't love her dad anymore. That she'd moved on so quickly when everything was still such a mess and Emily herself was still so broken.

Gillian had stood there through Emily's entire speech, letting her tears fall, but remaining quiet. As soon as Emily spoke her final words, Ria jumped in. "Enough!" she exclaimed forcefully. "Emily, you have no idea what Gillian has been going through! She's been so busy helping you with your grief and taking the time to be there for you and make sure you're alright that she hasn't gotten to grieve herself. She misses your dad every bit as much as you do, and this has been _hell_ on her! Her being with Ben does not mean that she's stopped loving your dad, and you owe her a _huge_ apology."

Emily's eyes widened in shock. Gillian looked at Emily apologetically, and Eli stood there, not quite sure what the hell was going on. "Emily, I'm so sorry," Gillian finally said, her voice soft and broken. "I love your father more than I even know how to say, and I always will. I made a mistake thinking it would make things better, but it only made them worse, and I'm sorry."

Emily contemplated these words for a while. Then, wordlessly, she shuffled over to Gillian and wrapped her arms around her, burying her face in her shoulder. Gillian was shocked, but soon melded into the hug, holding Emily close. Both of them cried, and Ria rubbed Emily's back. Eli walked over and put a hand on Gillian's shoulder.

When Ben entered the RV, the sobs had quieted, but all four were still standing in a huddle. "What's goin' on, everything alright?" he asked. Gillian sniffled and looked over at him sheepishly, as if to say, '_they_ _know'_. Ben caught on to her expression, and nodded once. "Can I talk to you outside?" he asked, and Gillian nodded this time. She gave Emily one last squeeze and then stepped out of the RV with Ben.

"I'm sorry," she began, "They figured it out. Well, Ria did, and then…" she sighed, "I can't do this anymore, Ben. I care about you, and you mean so much to me, but I'm just not ready. The guilt is tearing me apart, and I can't—" she cut herself off, a soft sob escaping her.

Ben ran his hand through her hair, "It's alright," he told her, "Please don't cry. This is my fault, I knew you weren't ready. I wanted so badly to make you feel better that I didn't think about what would happen if you didn't."

Gillian shook her head, "I should have said something, and I'm sorry. I know you wouldn't ever hurt me intentionally, it's just—"

"You're still in love with someone else," he finished for her.

She nodded and looked down, "I'm sorry."

"Hey," he said, lifting her chin, "Don't apologize to me. You don't have anything to be sorry for. You've been through hell lately. I just want you to know that I'm here for you, however you want me to be."

"I could really use someone to talk to," she said softly.

"You got it," he agreed, kissing her forehead.

"Hey," Ria said, poking her head out the door, "Are we all good now?" she asked, arching an eyebrow.

Gillian gave a soft smile and nodded, "Yeah. Could you send Em out here?" Ria nodded, and a moment later, the teen was standing next to her. "Girl talk?" Gillian asked.

"Yes, please," Emily consented, taking Gillian's hand, "I'm sorry I called you that," she whispered in shame.

"Don't be," Gillian assured her. They sat by the fire and talked the hours away while Ben, Ria, and Eli chatted in the RV, and for the first time since losing Cal, Gillian began to feel better.


	5. Days 79 through 87

**Day 79**

"So, I'm thinking we should make a trip into town today," Eli suggested that morning.

"You're probably right. We've been runnin' low on a lot of stuff for a while," Ben agreed.

"I made a list," Gillian interjected, producing a piece of paper from her pocket.

"Alright, we'll have some breakfast and then head out," Ben instructed. They'd decided that all five of them would make the trip this time. Ria and Eli had gone alone a few weeks before, and had had a too-close encounter with some Walkers, barely escaping with their lives. Gillian had suggested they all go together, and that she, Eli, and Ria would go inside while Ben waited in the RV with Emily. That way, they could make a quick escape if necessary.

Ben wasn't extremely fond of this plan; he'd rather Gillian stayed in the RV, but she'd been adamant that there should be three of them going into the store together, and Ben's priority was keeping Emily safe.

By noon, they had arrived in the city. Luckily, they didn't see many Walkers along the way; most of them tended to find darker places to stay in the daytime. Ben parked the RV just outside the doors of an abandoned Wal-Mart. "Alright, you have the list, the objective is to get in and get out as fast as possible. Stick together, no matter what, stay quiet, and use the walkie if you run into trouble. Remember, the gun is a last resort only," Ben reminded Eli, handing him a Louisville Slugger, "Keep them safe."

Eli nodded in response, and he, Gillian, and Ria exited the RV. They entered the store, each grabbing a basket, and headed for the grocery aisles first. They navigated quietly and carefully, stocking up their baskets, and once they'd filled them, they made their way back to the RV to drop off the first round of supplies. "We didn't see anything yet," Eli told Ben.

"Us either," he replied, "Hopefully it's empty in there, but stay on your guard, just in case."

The shopping trio went back inside, in search of more batteries, some new clothes, towels, and various personal hygiene items. They'd gathered about ¾ of what they needed, and turned down aisle number 23…that's when things got messy.

Literally.

Five members of the undead were fighting over the carcass of a very unlucky man. Eli held both women back, shielding them from harm. "Stay calm," he told them, though his own heart was racing.

"Eli," Gillian whispered in fear, her head turned to look behind them, where 7 more Walkers had appeared.

"Stay calm," he repeated, unsure whether he was telling them or himself. He raised the bat, gripping it tightly. Ria wielded her ax, and Gillian held up her frying pan. "Remember, go for the head," Eli reminded them, deciding to go for the zombies behind them first. The ones ahead could still be distracted by the corpse they were feeding on.

The Walkers got closer, and Eli took out the first one with a heavy crack to the skull. He repeated this twice more, and Ria swung at one, decapitating it before realizing that that wouldn't stop it. She swung down at the head on the floor, hitting it with the blunt side of the ax and crushing the skull.

Gillian paid attention to the zombies from the other direction; one had come at her, and she gave it all she had, swinging once, then again, then a final time, just to be sure.

Ria's next swing missed the Walker's head, instead getting lodged in its chest (which, of course, was not enough to stop an undead being). She tried to remove her weapon quickly, but another Walker had her surrounded from behind, ready to sink its rotting teeth into her flesh. Seeing this, Eli quickly turned and cracked the zombie over the head, putting it to rest. Ria freed her ax, and she used it to properly slay the zombie, giving Eli an appreciative smile after she'd done so.

There were four Walkers left now. Eli, Gillian, and Ria stood, panting, as the last of the undead came at them. As they prepared to fight, adrenaline pumping wildly, shots rang out from both directions. All four zombies fell, bullets now lodged in their brains. Gillian gasped in surprise, and Eli dropped his bat and pulled his gun from its holster.

"It's okay!" a voice rang out from behind a shelf. A tall, dark-haired man stepped out, arms raised, "It's alright. You're safe now, there are no more of them here," he assured them.

"How do you know that?" Eil demanded, gun still raised and pointed in the stranger's direction.

"He's telling the truth," Ria muttered to him. Eli lowered the gun slowly.

"Who are you?" Gillian asked.

"My name is Jack Shephard," he replied, "Some of my friends and I came here for food and supplies, but we were attacked. There were a lot more of them, but we fought them off. That man there," Jack said, sighing and nodding towards the now-devoured carcass, "His name was Goodwin. He wandered off on his own and was surrounded by them before we could do anything to help. Anyway, we went to the back storage area to check it out, and then we heard you."

"We?" Eli questioned. In response, three more people emerged – one petite, dark-haired woman who stood next to Jack, and behind them, an Arabic man and another young man around Ria's age.

"This is my wife, Kate, and that's Boone, and Sayid," Jack introduced them, approaching Eli and extending his hand, "It's good to see some more human faces. We thought we were the only ones around here anymore."

"We thought the same thing," Eli told them. "I'm Eli, this is Ria, and Gillian. We've got two more outside."

"There are a bunch of us back at our camp, and some more out in the city, searching houses for supplies," Jack explained.

"Where's your camp?" Gillian asked.

"About an hour or so south of the city, along the river," Kate told them.

"We have a camp around there, too," Ria said.

"Are you interested in joining us? I saw you fighting off those Walkers, it was pretty bad-ass," Jack joked, "And there's always more safety in numbers. In this world, it's better to live together than to die alone," he said, "We can go back to your camp first, let you get whatever you need, then we can head back over to ours. You're more than welcome."

Gillian nodded, "All this time, we've been saying we'd wait to make a move until we found more people." She picked up her walkie and pressed the button, "Ben?"

"Gillian? Somethin' wrong?" he answered.

"No, no, we're fine now, but…there are people here, Ben. They've got a camp not too far from ours, and they've invited us to go with them. We think it's a good idea, what do you think?"

"What do you mean, you're fine _now_?" he asked in concern.

"I mean we're alright, everything's alright. What do you think, should we go to their camp?"

"I think whatever you think is probably right," he replied, "Let's do it."

"Well, I guess it's settled, then," Gillian told Jack with a smile, "It really is good to know we're not alone. And thank you, for saving us."

Jack nodded, "You'd have done the same for us," he said, and they agreed. "Our truck's around back. We'll drive it around front and then follow you."

Jack, Kate, Sayid, and Boone took off in the direction of their truck. Ria, Gillian, and Eli gathered their things, located the few remaining items they needed, and met Ben and Emily back at the RV, but not before Ria paused to give Eli a quick but passionate 'thank-you-for-saving-my-life' kiss.

"What the hell happened in there?" Ben asked immediately, stepping out of the RV. Emily clambered out behind him and went to Gillian's side, relieved to see that they were alright.

"We were surrounded by them," Eli said, "We fought most of them off, but then there were gunshots…it was these four people, Jack, Kate, Sayid, and Boone, they saved us. They said they were attacked by more of them before they heard us. They're coming around with their truck now," he said, turning his head at the sound of the approaching vehicle. Sayid was in the drivers' seat, and Jack hopped out the passenger side and walked over to them.

"Hey, there," he said, shaking Ben's hand, "Jack Shephard."

"Ben Reynolds."

"Emily Lightman," Em introduced herself, shaking Jack's hand, as well.

"Good to meet you both," Jack said with a smile, "Is she yours?" he asked Gillian, referring to Emily.

"No, not exactly, but…yes, in a way," she replied, smiling as she gave Emily a sideways hug.

Jack chuckled, "Alright, well, if you're ready, we'll follow you," Jack said.

Gillian nodded, "We're ready."

He nodded, "See you there."

_x x x_

A couple of hours later, and the entire gang had made its way to Jack's camp. Jack had radioed someone called Hurley to tell him about Goodwin, and that they'd be having guests. When they arrived at camp, a large congregation was waiting to greet them. "Everyone, this is Gillian, Ben, Emily, Ria, and Eli," Jack introduced the newbies to the group first, then addressed them. "This is Rose and Bernard, Hurley and Libby, Claire, Charlie, and their son Aaron, Shannon, Desmond and Penny, Ben, Danielle, and their daughter Alex, and Frank. We're still missing a few, but they should be comin' back tomorrow."

"Gillian, is it? Honey, you look completely shell-shocked. Why don't I get you something to eat?" the woman called Rose offered, stepping up to Gillian and resting a hand on her back. Gillian nodded and thanked her, letting Rose guide her to a tent.

"It's good to meet all of you," Hurley told them with a happy smile, "When Jack radioed us, we thought he was kidding."

"We were pretty surprised too, finding out we really weren't the only ones left," Ben said.

"Is Gillian gonna be okay?" Kate asked in concern.

"She will be," Emily replied quickly, "See, my dad, he," she paused to take a breath, "he was in a coma, and we had to leave him behind—"

"So she's still grieving for her husband," Penny finished, but Emily shook her head.

"They weren't married. They weren't even together, actually, but they loved each other. Timing was just never right," Emily explained softly. Ria squeezed her shoulder.

Alex, a dark-haired beauty about Emily's age, approached the youngest Lightman. "I lost my boyfriend to those freaks, so I kinda know how you feel, if you wanna talk," she offered.

Emily nodded and smiled appreciatively, "Yeah, I'd like that. These guys are great, but I miss having someone my own age," she said, turning to grin at her three companions.

"Oh come on, I'm a hoot!" Eli objected in jest.

Alex took a step back and gestured to Emily, "Come on, I'll show you our tent," she said, walking off in the direction of said tent, Emily following close behind.

The remaining adults took a seat around the fire, chatting and getting to know their new comrades. They talked of the Lightman Group and its functions. Gillian and Rose rejoined them, and they played games so as to better understand the lie detection profession; little did they know that at the same time, Cal was doing the very same thing with the other members of the camp.

They learned that Jack had been a spinal surgeon, that Hurley had won the lottery, and that Charlie was a world-famous musician. He and Eli began a lively debate about who was _really_ the best band of all time, and who played better guitar. They each got their instruments out and began to serenade everyone, finally deciding that it was a tie.

It was the best night any of them had had in a while, and after having a moment of silence for Goodwin, they decided to turn in for the night. Emily opted to stay with Alex, while Ben, Gillian, Eli, and Ria slept in the RV. For the first time in a very long time, Gillian got a good night's rest.

**Day 80**

By the next afternoon, Jack was growing concerned for the remaining members of their group. "They should've been back by now, or at least radioed in to let us know what's going on," he said worriedly. "Hurley, where's the walkie?"

"Oh. I think I left it in the tent," he admitted sheepishly, "Sorry, dude. I'll go get it." He brought the radio to Jack.

"Hello? James? John? Are you there? Hello, do you copy?"

John's voice replied a few moments later, "Jack, we've been trying to reach you all morning," he told him.

"Sorry, John, we didn't have the walkie on us," he explained, looking at Hurley with a slight smile, "Everything okay over there?"

"Yes, in a manner of speaking. We're all fine, but we picked up a new recruit, and he's contracted a bad case of pneumonia. Juliet's monitoring him, but we need medical supplies. Could you and Kate run them over here? Juliet wants you to take a look at him, anyhow." John requested.

"Yeah, of course, we'll head right over. You on the same street as before? Fowler?"

"Yep, house number 1623," he confirmed. "We'll see you in a bit." He gave the walkie back to Hurley and tracked down his wife. "Kate, John needs us to come out with the medical supplies," he explained the situation, and once they'd informed everyone else, they were on their way.

_x x x_

Jack and Kate arrived at the house and were let inside by John. "Hey, thanks for getting here so fast."

"No problem, what's goin' on? You said you found someone and he's got pneumonia?" Kate asked in a hushed voice.

"Well, we didn't really find him, he found us. James and Juliet were searching his house, and he came home. Apparently, he's been in a coma all this time, and he just woke up. He went home looking for his family, and found them instead. I guess that made him more susceptible to illness. He looked alright yesterday, but this morning…well, come and see for yourselves," John said, leading Jack to one of the bedrooms, where Juliet was tending to a bed-ridden Cal. Kate opted to go talk to the others. "His name's Cal Lightman," John introduced the sleeping Brit.

"Lightman?" Jack repeated, pulling John back, "The family he was looking for," Jack whispered, "It wouldn't happen to be a daughter named Emily, would it?"

John's brow furrowed, "How did you—"

"We found them, yesterday. We ran into them at the store and brought them back to our camp."

"Them?" John asked.

"Yeah, Emily, and some of Cal's co-workers, Ria, Eli, Ben, and—"

"Gillian?" John questioned. The shock on Jack's face told him all he needed to know. They had unwittingly stumbled upon both halves of a whole; two parties that needed to be reunited, and as soon as Cal recovered, they could do that.

"Boys? Sorry to interrupt, but I have a sick man here," Juliet said, kindly but urgently.

Jack smiled, "Sorry, Juliet," he said, giving a look to communicate to John not to say anything to Cal just yet. John left to go join the group in the kitchen. "What've we got?"

Juliet adjusted the cool cloth on Cal's forehead and stood, "He's got a high fever – 101 last time I checked. Did you bring the antibiotics?" she asked, keeping quiet so as not to wake the patient.

"They're in the med kit," he told her, "We're just gonna have to monitor him for a few days, make sure he gets enough rest and fluid, see if the antibiotics knock it out."

Juliet nodded, "And keep everyone inside until then, right?"

"Yeah," Jack replied, looking over at the patient, "Listen, I have to tell you," he whispered, "John and I just discovered something. We found this guy's family yesterday."

"What? You found Emily and Gillian?" Juliet asked in surprise, a smile quickly spreading across her face.

Jack chuckled softly, "We did. We were at Wal-Mart getting supplies, and they were there, too. We invited them over to our camp. Turns out they'd set up camp about half an hour away from us."

"Wait, wait, wait," Juliet said, turning around and picking something up off the bedside table. "Is this them?" she asked, holding the photograph out to Jack, who confirmed it with a nod.

"That's them."

Juliet's smile broadened, "Cal is gonna be so happy! He's been in love with her for years, but he never told her. He was so afraid he'd never see her again."

"Gillian loves him back," he whispered, "Emily told us so," he said with a chuckle. "Emily and Alex made fast friends."

"I'm not surprised."

"Juliet?"

"Hm?"

"Do you think we should tell him?"

Juliet shook her head, "No. Look, I've only known Cal for a day, but I already know one very important thing about him – he would do _anything_ to get back to his girls, even if it jeopardized his health. If we want him to recover quickly, he can't know. Not yet."

"That's what I thought, but I'm glad to hear you agree," he said, smiling. "Alright, well, if you wanna go fill everyone else in, I'm gonna wake him and give him his meds. I'll be out in a few minutes."

"Sure," she agreed with a smile, "Thanks, Jack."

"Anytime," he replied, taking a seat in the chair Juliet previously occupied. It relieved them both to know that even in this seemingly hopeless situation, hope and love were indeed still alive.

**Day 87**

"Are you guys concerned about Jack and Kate at all? I mean, is it weird that they haven't contacted us in a couple days?" Hurley asked the group as they sat around the fire eating breakfast.

"The last time Jack radioed, he said his patient was recovering nicely and they'd be here in a few days. If anything changed, he'd let us know," Sayid assured them.

"Who is this 'patient', anyway?" Shannon asked, her tone wary, "I mean, how do we know Jack should even be helping him?"

"Because he's a human _being_, Shan, and Jack's a doctor," Boone chastised. "If Jack thinks he's okay, then he's okay."

Shannon rolled her eyes and muttered a sarcastic, "Whatever," before going back to her meal and her book.

"Whoever he is, he not only managed to gain Jack's trust, but James and Juliet's, as well. That's no easy feat," Ben commented.

"Jack's been leading us from day one, I trust his judgment," Rose broke in, "Whoever this newcomer is, we'll welcome him to the group, just like we welcomed these lovely people," she said, smiling over at Gillian and company.

_x x x_

"C'mon, Sunshine, you been playin' nurse to Lightman all week. How 'bout you stay here and play nurse to me?" James prompted his wife, a mischievous grin playing on his lips.

Juliet chuckled, shaking her head and kissing him, "What am I gonna do with you?"

"Didn't I just answer that question?" he quipped, holding fast to her waist and moving them in the direction of the bed.

She laughed again, "Patience, James," she said, giving him another lingering kiss. "I'll make it worth the wait," she promised, muttering against his lips.

"I don't doubt that, sweetheart," he murmured, deepening the kiss.

"Juliet?" Jack's voice rang through the hallway outside the bedroom door.

James groaned against her lips in protest, not willing to surrender his wife just yet. "Give us ten minutes!" he called out. Juliet laughed, trapped in his hold, and moved her lips to his neck.

"James," she said in a warning tone, "_Wait for it,_" she whispered, kissing his lips one last time before pulling away and heading for the door.

"Alright, alright, don't mind me. I'll just be takin' a shower. A very, very cold and _lonely_ shower," he teased as she left the room.

She turned her head back and shot a smirk at him. "_Behave_. I love you."

"I love you back," he replied, grinning like a hopeless romantic at a Katherine Heigl movie.

"Hey, Jack, what's up?" Juliet asked the good doctor, closing the bedroom door.

"Our patient seems to have made a full recovery. I think he's ready to rejoin his family," he told her, smiling.

Juliet beamed, "Should we tell him now?"

"I think seeing them might give him a heart attack if we don't," Jack said with a chuckle.

"Alright, then, let's do it."

_x x x_

"Hey, Gill, can we talk a minute? Alone?" Ben inquired of his lady love. It had been well over a month since the last time they'd shared a bed, and their friendship remained strong, but neither of them had mentioned their nights together since then. It left Ben wondering where he stood, and he decided it was time to man up and ask her.

Gillian agreed, and followed him into his tent. "What did you want to talk about?"

_x x x_

"They're _what_?" Cal asked in disbelief, staring at Juliet. They had all gathered in the living room to let Cal in on the good news.

"They're at our camp," she repeated. "Jack, Kate, and two of our other friends found them on the same day that James and I found you."

"If that's not fate, I don't know what is," Sun said, smiling.

"I can't wait to meet her," Charlotte said, "If she's all you say she is," she teased.

Cal didn't reply. He felt frozen, afraid to believe it was really true. "You're _certain_ it's them?" he asked Jack, who chuckled in response.

"Absolutely positive. Gillian Foster, Emily Lightman, Ben Reynolds, Eli Loker, and Ria Torres, they're all there," he promised.

"Do they know I'm here?"

"No. We wanted to leave that up to you," John told him.

"Was there a Zoe Landau?" he asked, realizing that was the one name Jack had left out.

"No. Who's Zoe Landau?"

"Emily's mum," Cal replied with a sigh, thinking of the hell his poor daughter must have been going through. _But she's got Gillian…Gillian's alive, and she's safe. They're safe…_ he thought to himself.

"I'm sorry," Juliet said as she rested her hand on Cal's, "I'm sure Gillian's taken wonderful care of Emily for you."

"I'm sure she has," he agreed. "Thanks, love. It's just—it's hard for me to believe they're really there. I can't, you know? Not 'til I see them for myself."

"I understand," Kate said, "But they're really there, and they miss you so much."

"They're _really_ there," Cal repeated, still uncertain.

"Really, really," James chimed in.

Juliet smiled, "What do you say we go to camp and let you introduce us?"

_x x x_

"I wanna talk about us," Ben told Gillian, "I'm okay with giving you space and time, I'm just wondering…is being with me something you're ever gonna want?" Ben couldn't remember ever feeling this nervous about a woman before, but then again, no other woman was quite like Gillian.

"I-" she began, pausing to take a deep breath, "Yes, I think so," she replied softly. "I mean…yes," she said with a nod, a gentle smile appearing on her face. "I just…need some more time. I need to take things slow. You've been so patient, and I appreciate that, but if we're gonna do this, I want to do it right. You deserve that. You deserve someone who's whole and healed, and I'm just not quite there yet," she told him, "But I do wanna get there, and I will."

"You do," he said, smiling in relief.

"Slowly," she reiterated. He leaned in – slowly – and was just about to capture her lips with his, when Rose poked her head into the tent.

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to interrupt," she said, a grin forming on her lips.

Gillian pulled back, her cheeks slightly flushed, "You're not, it's alright. What's going on?"

"The rest of our group is back, we'd like you to meet them," she told them. The threesome headed out to join the group in greeting the others. Two vans and a car were parked on the grass near the other vehicles, and a small cluster of people exited them, including Jack and Kate.

"Where's Em?" Gillian asked Ria, who replied that she was with Alex in her tent.

"Gillian!" Jack called out, "I think we found something that belongs to you," Jack continued, making Gillian wonder why he was smiling like that. What could they possibly have found?

Her question was answered a moment later, when a very familiar shape emerged from one of the vans. Gillian swore her heart stopped momentarily. She gripped Ria's arm and stared at the figure, trying to discern whether or not he was real.

"Who is that man?" Rose asked.

Gillian found herself unable to respond, but Ben answered for her. "That's Cal Lightman." Inside, he felt as frozen and shocked as Gillian looked.

"Cal," Gillian whispered, tears welling in her eyes. He was _real_…

Cal stood beside Jack, tears in his own eyes as he took in the sight of the woman he loved, standing there in front of him, safe and sound. "Gillian," he called out to her, taking a few steps in her direction.

"Cal," she repeated, her feet finally remembering what motion was.

"Gillian!" he rejoiced as they finally reached one another. She leapt into his arms, and he held on for dear life, their tears turning into joyous sobs. Gillian closed her eyes tight and squeezed him, drinking him in and drowning the rest of the world out. He still smelled the same, felt the same. She sobbed in his arms for what felt like hours, letting the truth wash over her. He was alive. He was _here_.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Emily's shocked exclamation as she came running towards them, "Dad!" Soon the three of them were huddled together, crying and laughing and hugging, the rest of the camp looking on with happy smiles. "My girls," Cal said, kissing Emily's forehead, and then resting his own forehead against Gillian's.

After giving them a minute to process, Ria, Eli, and a hesitant Ben approached them, and Cal greeted and embraced each in turn. Gillian turned to Jack, "How did you—" she began to ask, unable to find the words to finish the question.

"He was the patient we had to take care of," Jack replied with a smile.

"I went home to find you, but I found James and Juliet instead," Cal explained, nodding towards the guilty party. "They took me in, took care of me, explained what happened…honestly, loves, I didn't think I'd ever see you again, but these good people here, they convinced me not to lose hope."

"Thank you," Gillian said softly, tears still slipping down her cheeks, "Thank you all, so much."

Juliet approached her, "He told us so much about the two of you, we couldn't wait to meet you," she said, extending her hand to Gillian, "Juliet Ford," she introduced herself with a smile.

Gillian shook her hand, but Emily went right for a hug. "Thank you for taking care of my dad," she said tearfully.

"You're absolutely welcome, sweetheart," Juliet replied warmly. "Couldn't have done it without these guys, though." One by one, everyone was introduced, and when they were through, Cal made a proclamation.

"As grateful as I am for all this, I do believe there are some _very_ important things I need to discuss with this lovely lady," he said, squeezing Gillian's hand. Those who had been in Cal's company for the past week grinned, knowing exactly what he wanted to say to her. "Take a walk with me, love?" Gillian nodded.

"Here," Ben said, handing Cal his trench knife and gun, "You shouldn't run into anything out there, but…just in case."

Cal nodded his thanks, and led Gillian away from camp. "We'll stay close," he said, putting an arm around her, "To camp, I mean," he clarified, grinning suggestively.

Gillian chuckled, keeping an arm around him, as well. "I just can't believe you're really here," she said, "I thought I'd lost you."

"You'll never lose me, darling," he promised.

"Cal," she interjected, pausing for a deep breath, "I…leaving you behind, it wasn't—"

"I know, love," he interrupted, "I know."

"Please just hear me out," she requested, "It was the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I've lived these past few months believing you were dead, and it made me realize so many things, like, how much I took for granted before. I thought you'd always be there, I thought I had so much more time, and there's so much I never got a chance to tell you, but I have to tell you now. I love you, Cal. And I'm not just saying that because of what's happened, because I have _always_ loved you. You're—you're a part of me, and I can't—" her voice broke, and the tears returned, "I can't lose you again."

"You won't," he vowed again, stopping and wrapping his arms around her waist, "Gill, I love you, too. Always have. I'm not letting anything keep us apart again." With that, he finally claimed her lips with his, pouring all the passion he had into the kiss he'd been longing to give her for years.


End file.
